This is a rougarou, a Louisiana swamp legend related to a werewolf. It’s also the legendary villain in Heather Graham’s latest Krewe of Hunters novel, The Stalking.

This series, featuring an elite group of FBI agents who have abilities to see and talk with ghosts, is an atmospheric one that delves into local stories and legends. Graham makes it clear in all of her books that humans are responsible for evil. In the opening chapter of The Stalking, after a serial killer is caught at a funeral, a teenage Cheyenne Donegal realizes, “It was not the dead who threatened the innocent. It was the evil in certain human beings who were very much alive.”

However, a rougarou appears to be evil in the display of legendary creatures at the American Museum of Natural History. Krewe member Andre Rousseau is there with fellow agent Angela Hawkins because a docent swore the rougarou moved. That incident is easily explained by equipment malfunction. It’s not so easy to explain the women who are disappearing in New Orleans. Rousseau is sent there to partner with FBI Agent Cheyenne Donegal. They’re both from the area. And, they realize they saw each other briefly years ago when a young Cheyenne called out the man who killed her cousin, and Andre and a friend captured him. That man was sentenced to death, but, now years later, someone is imitating his crimes.

When the primary suspect in the latest kidnappings and murder is found dead, the local police are more than happy to call it suicide. However, the autopsy says otherwise. Now Cheyenne and Andre team up to find the latest killer to stalk New Orleans. It will take all the efforts of the assigned Krewe, and assorted ghosts, to find out who is terrorizing the city.

As always, Graham’s atmospheric book combines history, legend, the paranormal, and good old fashioned investigation. There are multiple ghosts in the latest book, from the victim of an early serial killer, the first accused “Rougarou”, to a friendly pirate who sailed with Lafitte and fought to defeat the British in 1812. Cheyenne also has assistance from the ghosts of two teens, including her dead cousin. If any city is haunted, it would be New Orleans, with so much dramatic history and legends.

Graham’s Krewe of Hunters books are paranormal mysteries with the added spice of a hot romance between a member of the Krewe and another person. For anyone familiar with that formula, it only takes an introduction of Cheyenne and Andre to point the way to the romance. Those characters are always intelligent, always good-looking, but it’s a formula that works.

Heather Graham’s formula for Krewe of Hunters novels always works for me. With the help of ghosts in a paranormal mystery set in an American city filled with hauntings, legends and history, an elite group of FBI agents hunt a serial killer. Add the romance, and the book provides an entertaining day.

Heather Graham’s website is www.TheOriginalHeatherGraham.com

The Stalking by Heather Graham. MIRA, 2019. ISBN 9780778308249 (hardcover), 297p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure – Library book